Thousand
by Xen Silver Quill
Summary: "A thousand lifetimes have come and gone, my friend." Waava (Wan x Raava).


A hundred lifetimes have come and gone, my friend. Ten thousand years, a hundred lives.

Time was was a thing unknown to me - when you have lived an eternity, such mortal and finite concepts are bound to be immaterial - until I met you.

You appeared out of nowhere. All I had ever known was battle with my other half, the eternal struggle between myself and Vaatu. It was a brawl like any other between us when you stepped between us. Your flames rent us apart. We were separated for the first time in millennia, and he was allowed to slip from my hold. I think I might have been angry with you at the time. Yet such emotions are as brief and meaningless as time for me, and it was not the first instance someone had interfered in this eternal battle (though, as you will recall, it was not the last instance in which _you_ stepped between us).

I met you once again upon the back of the lion turtle. In the skirmish with the dark-turned spirits, I learned then that trouble was a constant companion of yours along with foolhardiness-bordering-stupidity, as it is with most of your race. You seemed just like the rest of the humans to me if not even worse in some respects. On the other face of it, I could also see that you were compassionate, both to your fellows and to the spirits you called your brothers. There was a bright Light inside you, surprisingly brilliant and strong for a soul so young. I suppose that was why I decided to let you help me; you owed me the favor besides.

So it was that we made a pact. I would carry your Fire, your Air and Water and Earth. You would lend me your strength as we fought to protect the ultimate fate of the world.

Against my own predictions and presumptions, we did remarkably well together. We obtained each element in turn from the ancient ones. You became stronger with each addition and with every passing I made through your spirit even as I weakened with Vaatu's rising power. It still baffles me to think of the faith you put in me and my powers to see you through each conflict. I wonder if you ever knew just how much I began to rely upon you in turn, that I would have faded all the faster without your support.

The only time in my existence that I have been afraid was during the battle between the fledgling firebenders and the spirits. When we merged, we nearly became one, such was the strength of our unity that day. All the elements were yours to command, and the fighting itself stopped in awe of our glory. Yet I came so close to destroying you, too. Though you begged me to keep us bonded, to do so would have killed you and torn your spirit apart. I could not bear the thought of it. To be the cause of your demise… it would have been an even greater failure on my part than to lose ten thousand years to Vaatu.

When the time of the Harmonious Convergence was at hand, I gave you the last of my power, small as it was, to fight the darkness. There was a moment - our darkest hour - where I despaired. Our doom seemed certain, and my regret was not for our loss but the extinguishing of your beautiful Light at the hands of the enemy. I had come to admire your courage and fortitude, to love your fierce yet gentle heart. I was nearly ready to let go and give you at least the chance to live. All seemed lost. Then you touched the bright column as the chaos closed in around us… _We were bonded forever._

The battle was won. Light and peace reigned supreme once more, though it was not the end of the struggle between good and evil. I watched as you fought and toiled the rest of your life to bring peace to the world. Though your life ended in battle, though you died thinking you had failed, I hope you will believe me when I say that nothing is further from the truth.

A hundred lifetimes have come and gone, my friend. Ten thousand years, a hundred lives. I have seen you laugh and cry, love and hate, defend and fight, live and die. I have seen you in light and shadow, peace and chaos, good and evil. I have seen you in each life, have lived them with you. I have never left your side, Wan, and never will, for I stand by what I said that day:

**_We will be together for all your lifetimes, and we will never give up._**


End file.
